I bought another one in the same complex for $45k (by now the 2BR condos were selling about 55k), but I know that's it's going to keep going up from there, and even if it doesn't, it's still going to be a way to generate cash without burning a lot of calories.  

Add to that the mortgage payment, insurance, and taxes and there may be a deficit when it is all said and done.

Also look out for any potential tax increases as a result of local issues (e.g. a local company moving out of town, budget deficits etc.)

Making a respectable offer avoiding any pretense of sounding condescending seems reasonable to me - especially if the evidence that the management of the property has shown that there is a severe deficit. 

In your case, I would try to recover $200  - $225 of the deficit, - we would probably lay out a schedule with an immediate $50/mth increase and another $25/quarter over the next 18 to 21 months.  

Make that debt level versus deficit in the title and discussion. 

becaus the whole country is running in their deficit.

I strive to continually read books, read posts, listen to podcasts and watch webinars, but I feel my most glaring deficit currently is networking.

Here are my thoughts on buying in SoCalPros:- huge appreciation potential - can expect very high rentsCons:- laws highly favor tenants, thus if you are stuck with a bad tenant it is very hard to evict them (especially now)- CA is experiencing out-migration, meaning there are more people who leave CA than those who move here- property prices are extremely expensive, even buying a fixer upper can start at as "low" as $400k- CA is running huge budget deficits so we can see this transition into higher taxes, including property taxes- CA has a very high unemployment rate, which directly translates to wages and ability to pay rentBut remember, you can make money on a deal in a not-so-good market (like SoCal) and you can lose money on a deal in a great market (Phoenix, Austin).

And, expect the insurance money to go toward paying the deficit in loan money.